Spring is here! A time for new beginnings, super blooms, and for 3L's, graduation! As I reflect on my last three years of law school, I cannot but help think that my experience has been one of immense personal growth. I've made countless friends, learned to IRAC in my sleep, and attempted to eat my way across this city of vast culinary diversity. As my term on the BALIF board is nearing it's end, I'd like to use this opportunity to encourage current 1L's and 2L's to consider running for the law student representative positions on the board of directors. It's a great opportunity to get involved in the legal community, make new friends, and take an active role in maintaining the strength of the LGBT community in the Bay Area.

The only requirements to run are that you're a current member and you're ready and willing to volunteer your time to BALIF. To run for the Board or nominate someone else, please send a candidate statement of up to 250 words to Pete Catalanotti (secretary@balif.org) and BALIF's Administrator, Katie Carlson (balif@balif.org) by March 31, 2016 at 5:00pm. Elections will be online starting on April 1, 2016 and there will be an opportunity to vote in person at BALIF's annual general membership meeting on Thursday, April 14, 2016 from 6 - 8:30pm. Questions about the Board? Feel free to contact Peter Catalanotti at secretary@balif.org.

To my fellow 3L's, we're almost there! Good Luck on finals, and best of luck in all of your future endeavors.

Sincerely,

Joseph Deignan

BALIF Law Student Representative

Recruiting on the Rocks

BALIF Happy Hour

Looking for a job? Looking to hire? Looking for fun? Then come to Recruiting on the Rocks - the most productive happy hour BALIF has ever seen! Combining elements of a career fair with the camaraderie of a happy hour, this is the perfect opportunity to eat, drink, and connect with fellow BALIF attorneys and law students. We will also announce and celebrate the Mentor of the Year.

When: Thursday, March 31, 2016 at 6 pm

Where:

Farella Braun & Martel LLP

235 Montgomery Street, 7th Floor

San Francisco, CA

So whether you're recruiting, on the job hunt, or just looking to have a good time (or all of the above!), we hope to see you at Recruiting on the Rocks! Questions?

BALIF has created the BALIF Partner Exchange to bring together our members that are looking to network and exchange business and ideas. This event is exclusively for BALIF members who are partners or owners of their firm with 7 years or more of experience.

I am always looking for topics so let me know if there is something you'd like to discuss at an upcoming luncheon.

A great way to serve the LGBT legal community and become more involved in BALIF is to join BALIF's Board of Directors. BALIF's Directors are elected by the BALIF membership, and each Director holds office for two years. Any BALIF member is welcome to run for the Board or nominate another BALIF member. BALIF's bylaws reflect the Board's commitment to "equality, parity, and diversity," and we specifically encourage people of color, women, and transgender and/or gender non-conforming individuals to run for the Board.

To run for the Board or nominate someone else, please send a candidate statement of up to 250 words to Pete Catalanotti (secretary@balif.org) and BALIF's Administrator, Katie Carlson (balif@balif.org) by March 31, 2016 at 5:00pm. BALIF's bylaws require gender parity on the Board, with a certain number of positions allocated to Directors who identify as male, female, and gender non-conforming. So if you are seeking a position, please indicate the category with which you identify.

Elections will be online starting on April 1, 2016 and there will be an opportunity to vote in person at BALIF's annual general membership meeting on Thursday, April 14, 2016 from 6 - 8:30pm. The results will be announced at the end of the meeting.

Questions about the Board? Thinking about seeking a position? Feel free to contact Peter Catalanotti at secretary@balif.org

BALIF Joins Bar Associations Around California to Call on President Obama and Senate to Fill Supreme Court Vacancy

Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF) joined bar associations from across the state of California to send a letter to President Barack Obama and Senate leaders urging them to heed their constitutional duty to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court. The bar associations, representing over 30,000 lawyers throughout the state, called on the president to quickly nominate a qualified candidate to the Supreme Court, and for the Senate to consider that nominee without delay. In addition to BALIF, the signatories to the letter include the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the Alameda Country Bar Association, the Lake County Bar Association, the Yolo County Bar Association, and over a dozen other statewide and local bar associations.

Commenting on the decision to join forces with other bar associations in this effort, BALIF Co-Chair Jessica Bogo said, "BALIF stands with tens of thousands of California lawyers in calling on our nation's elected officials to fulfill their constitutionally required duties to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court." You can view BALIF's press release regarding the letter here.

BALIF Joins Supreme Court Amicus Brief Supporting Immigrants' Rights

On March 4, 2016, BALIF joined the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA) and a coalition of other organizations in an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Texas. The case concerns Texas's challenge to President Obama's Executive Actions on immigration, which expanded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and created a new Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) program.

NQAPIA's brief informs the U.S. Supreme Court of the special concerns of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Asian Americans, South Asians, Southeast Asians, and Pacific Islanders (API). An estimated 267,000 undocumented immigrants are LGBT, of which a disproportionate share are API.

According to Glenn D. Magpantay, NQAPIA Executive Director, "The Supreme Court is extremely supportive of LGBT people, and we aim to show how immigration laws and policies have a direct impact on the lives of LGBT people." He continued, "We also lift up the voices of Asian Pacific Islanders to demonstrate the ethnic diversity of undocumented immigrants."

Public Justice, a national public interest law firm dedicated to pursuing high impact lawsuits to combat social and economic injustice, protect the Earth's sustainability, and challenge predatory corporate conduct and government abuses, seeks to hire a law school graduate to serve as a Fellow for two years in either its Washington, D.C. headquarters or its Oakland, California office. The Fellow will help develop and litigate Public Justice's cases. The position will start in the fall of 2016.

It's been said that age is just a state of mind, but statistically speaking, LGBTQ people face some unique challenges as we grow older. Consider that two thirds of us don't have children. We are twice as likely to live alone and significantly more likely to be disconnected from our families of origin. And over the next 50 years, the number of people over 65 is expected to double.

In this session, you'll learn more about the issues facing your aging clients, including:

RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED FOR A HEAD COUNT AND FOR SECURITY PURPOSES and must be received by 5:00 p.m. no later than Monday, April 11, 2016. Make a reservation by e-mailing SFLPA's EDU Chair, Michelle Vigil at mvigil@sinunubruni.com

*MCLE Credits available. SFLPA, a local association of Legal Secretaries Incorporated, an approved provider, certifies that this activity has been approved for a minimum of 1 hour of continuing legal education credit by the State Bar of California.

Follow BALIF on Twitter!

BALIF's twitter feed is up and running. Follow us to see BALIF news, event info, #ThrowbackThursday posts, and more. Just click the Twitter button in the right hand column of the newsletter or here.

Join the BALIF Listserv!

Have a job or need one? Civil procedure question? Need a

referral? Have something important to ask ... or news to tell? Want to get to our members quickly? Join our Listserv!

BALIF members should have received our invitation to join our newly-created Listserv. You must proactively respond to the request in order to be added to our Listserv. If you didn't get a request, please let us know by emailing technology@balif.org or balif@balif.org.

We Want Your BALIFBuzz

We all love that section in our alumni newsletters that talks about who's doing what.

Well, we're introducing the BALIFBuzz to show-off all the great things that our members are doing. BALIFBuzz will be appearing in the weekly BALIF newsletter.